Updated September 19, 2025 at 09:30 AM ET
After a monthslong manhunt, authorities say they have found human remains believed to be those of Travis Decker, the father accused of kidnapping and murdering his three young daughters at a campsite in Washington state.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Thursday that federal and local officials — including U.S. marshals, Border Patrol, the FBI and the sheriff's office — on a mission this week had found human remains "in a remote wooded area south of the town of Leavenworth," in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state, less than 20 miles from the crime scene.
"While positive identification has not yet been confirmed, preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker," the sheriff's office said, adding that it plans to follow up with DNA analysis and is in contact with the Decker family.
Authorities had been looking for Decker since the evening of May 30. That's when his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, alerted police that their three daughters — Olivia, 5; Evelyn, 8; and Paityn, 9 — had not returned from a planned visitation with him.
On June 1, after a weekend of searching, law enforcement discovered Decker's empty vehicle near a campground in central Washington state — and the bodies of his daughters nearby. Decker, 32, was nowhere to be found.
That sparked a large-scale search for Decker that grew to involve state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. In July, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced he was "tapping emergency funds" and ordering Washington National Guard resources to support the search, including by providing helicopter transportation for law enforcement.
The U.S. Marshals had offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to Decker's arrest. They described Decker — a resident of Wenatchee, Wash. — as a "former military member with extensive tactical training."
"New information has revealed Mr. Decker is well versed in wilderness survival and capable of spending days or even weeks in the wilderness on his own and with very little equipment," the sheriff's office said in July, warning that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
After nearly two months of searching by swift water teams, K9 teams, aircraft and personnel on foot — and several suspected sightings that proved unfruitful — the sheriff's office announced on July 25 that it would scale back the search for Decker due to a "decrease in leads and tips."
"As of today, Mr. Decker has still not been located, and there is insufficient information to suggest that he is alive, nor if he is deceased," it said, though stressed the criminal investigation was ongoing.
Authorities recovered bones during a targeted search near the campsite in late August, only to later confirm they belonged to an animal. Then, less than a month later, came Thursday's announcement.
Arianna Cozart, Whitney Decker's attorney, told ABC News they are "praying that the remains found are confirmed to be Travis'." She expressed gratitude for law enforcement's efforts and "the entire world's love, compassion, and support for Whitney."
Whitney Decker thanked the public for their support and paid tribute to her daughters in a brief speech at their memorial in late June.
"I'm so thankful for the time that I had with the girls," she said. "I truly hope that the legacy of the girls' lives lives in everyone's heart forever. They were incredible."
What we know about Decker
Decker was an infantryman in the Army from March 2013 to July 2021, Army spokesperson Maj. Travis Shaw confirmed to NPR. He served in Afghanistan from March to July 2014, and left active duty as a staff sergeant.
According to an affidavit filed in June in Chelan County Superior Court, Whitney Decker told police that she and her ex-husband had three children together before divorcing several years ago, after about seven years of marriage.
Whitney Decker said the two had followed a court-ordered parenting plan, the most recent of which allowed him visitation every other weekend. She said Decker had a good relationship with their kids and there were no issues with recent visitation or communication.
"Whitney expressed concern because Decker reportedly has never done this before and further noted he is currently experiencing some mental health issues," the affidavit reads.
She said Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder toward the end of their marriage and did not believe he was taking medication for it.
She also said Decker is considered homeless and has stayed at hotels, motels and campgrounds. She explained that their parenting plan was updated to prohibit overnight stays after he lost housing.
Whitney Decker told police that there were no issues during her last interaction with Decker on May 30, though she noted he was "quieter than usual which was out of character."
She said he had recently talked about getting rid of his dog due to housing and financial concerns, including garnished wages over unpaid child support.
"Whitney stated his children and his dog are the two big positives in his life," the affidavit reads.
What we know about the alleged murders
Decker's abandoned vehicle and daughters' bodies were found near the Rock Island Campground in a remote area of Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth.
According to the affidavit, Decker's pickup truck had blankets, car seats, food, a wallet and other items inside, and "what appears to be two hand prints of blood" on the tailgate. Authorities found an abandoned camp "with signs of recent activity" nearby.
Law enforcement discovered the three children's bodies down a small embankment some 100 yards past the truck, with zip ties and plastic bags strewn around that whole area. Each of the girls had a plastic bag over their head, and their "wrists were zip tied or showed signs of being zip tied," according to the affidavit.
In June, more than a week after the grisly discovery, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office that blood samples taken from the scene came back positive for belonging to a male, while another "was not human blood." It said it had recovered some of Decker's personal belongings — including his dog, which it turned over to the humane society for safe care.
The sheriff's office said an autopsy had determined the girls' cause of death to be suffocation, and the manner of death determined to be homicide.
The sheriff's office released more information about the crime scene in August, saying that two of the girls were found with two plastic bags over their heads and the other with three. DNA taken from the bags matched only Decker and his daughters, they said, with no other DNA profiles obtained from the bags or the zip ties.
"The completion of this DNA analysis provides additional evidence that indicates Travis Decker is the only suspect involved in committing these homicides," it said.
What we know about the manhunt
Authorities released videos and photos taken of Decker in the days leading up to May 30, interviewed his known associates and visited local sites he was known to frequent — while also acknowledging the possibility that he had left the area.
Another affidavit, filed by a U.S. Marshals officer in June, said Google records obtained as part of the investigation showed that in late May Decker had searched for phrases including: "how does a person move to canada" and "jobs canada."
The affidavit notes that the campsite where he took the girls was "relatively close" to the Canadian border and just 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, "a well-established trail that leads directly to Canada." Leavenworth is about a four-hour drive from Vancouver, Canada.
That information, combined with Decker's penchant for hiking and living off the grid — including a two-and-a-half month stint in the backwoods mentioned in the affidavit — fueled concerns he may have tried to flee the country.
On Aug. 25, exactly a month after the search was scaled back, the sheriff's office announced that local and federal authorities would close roads and trails to undertake a two-day search near the Rock Island Campground.
They described it as a "targeted effort" that would cover "rugged and heavily forested terrain within U.S. Forest Service land," citing challenges like "steep hillsides, dense brush, minimal cell service, and unpredictable conditions."
More than 100 personnel searched the dense terrain in nearly 100-degree weather for two days, searching and documenting over 247 acres, according to the FBI Seattle field office. It said personnel recovered "several items that are being examined to determine if they are related to this investigation."
FBI officials said on Sept. 3 that bones were among the items recovered from the scene, but forensic analysis had since confirmed they belonged to an animal, not a human.
"While we do not anticipate further updates related to this specific search, the investigation continues," said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office. "This extensive search was just one step in a three-month process by a variety of agencies to locate Travis Decker, discover signs of his whereabouts, or find any other evidence of the murder of his three daughters."
Authorities announced the discovery of human remains less than three weeks later.
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